Dream Analysis is without a doubt in my top 3 of complimentary therapies.
Our dreams can tell us so much if we understand what they are trying to explain.
When we are asleep our brain functions on the sub-conscious brain - all the information you've collected that day or things you've seen or remembered filter through. We do so much through our sub-conscious that we don't realise and when it gets a bit full, it's like a folder falling apart and all the papers are mixed up. That's the easiest way I can describe it.
So you have this folder of papers and they're upside down, in the wrong order, backwards and the worst is when there are extras that you didn't know about. That's where dreams are acted out within our mind.
One of my favourite pieces of information about dreams is that every face we dream of we have seen. It's not believed that we can create a face from random in our mind, even if it was walking past someone for a second. Your conscious mind may not acknowledge them, but the sub-conscious has this 'I need to remember that face for something'. Can you see why I study so much? It's addictive learning how the brain works!
Then there's the reason we dream about people we don't like or don't want to see. The dream isn't about them, it's the feeling and a memory. It may not even have anything to do with the person in your dream but the emotion or the reminder is there to show you. The brain is twisted. The sub-conscious is what allows us to live. It pumps our heart, makes us breathe, it's pretty much who we are, but whilst being so awesome it's also spiteful sometimes. It's our internal karma - done something bad? Bam, here have a trauma flashback. Been mean, Bam, here's a bad dream. As they say, no good deed can go unpunished. The only way to disconnect from the trauma recalls is to split, disassociate and completely withdraw.
My main reason for this blog was last night I had a nightmare, but for the first time it wasn't my normal. It was random and even though it woke me up, it was worth it.
So when I say 'my normal' I mean the music playing, and the people involved. It could be a different story, different place, a different time. I could be a child, teen or an adult but the plot and characters are usually the same. I've never been to Paris with this person, but in my dreams I have. Sorry, I mean my nightmares...
Over the last week, I've had a bit of a breakthrough in dealing with personal trauma. I refuse to keep my past a secret - that shit nearly killed me many times. When I was 15 I was groomed by an older family member. This week we realised it was orchestrated and planned by someone else. This whole story needs it's own blog but trust me when I say criminal and forensic psychology have made me figure out the entire thing.
Until I uncovered that skeleton the dreams were a constant reminder. It was as if I needed to find the hidden message in my dreams to understand and get them to stop. This week they stopped. That trauma is now dealt with and I can move forward with my life whilst still processing the information. I'll probably be talking about it for weeks but I only withdrew for 2 days, mainly to process what I came to understand, but my nightmares are normal. I watched The Blacklist before bed last night and I'm pretty sure my dream was FBI based with guns and stuff so my dream makes sense.
Colours and symbols can also be used to determine more about your dreams. There may not be any sense as to why you dreamt that but your brain stored that image and links it to a memory or a feeling and this is the only way our sub-conscious can talk to use to try to understand it.
What the sub-conscious can also do is add fuel to the flame, it can take a trauma memory and make it a million times worse. Something minor might have happened but enough to shake you, then you dream about it and it's your worse nightmare coming true. The fear you feel in your dream is worse than the actual event. Personally, the way I picture it is, the more of a face we put on after trauma, how quickly we 'recover' or how we push everything to the side to keep going, it comes out in our dreams. Our brains will make us deal with our traumas on way or another - nightmares, headaches, pain in our body or sickness when the brain feels attacked, unloved and isn't being kept balanced it takes out on you physically.
Dream Analysis can help you to understand how to process trauma. It can allow you to sleep better at night and it may not take the bad dreams away instantly, but when you learn how to break down your dreams they become less powerful.
This blog could go on forever. It's an amazing therapy for those who don't feel comfortable with hypnotherapy, plus it doesn't have to be done in person or on zoom. It can be a detailed letter/email. It is bad enough having the dreams but having to talk about them is reliving them. Although writing it down is remembering I usually find when it's written down my mind feels less fuzzy and I can turn my attention towards other things.
I love decoding other people's dreams, and I love helping people manage their trauma. When I hear that people are sleeping better, having fewer nightmares and being able to go back to sleep after waking up, it makes it worth it.
I won't ever judge you on your dream. Your dream means absolutely nothing to me. What matters to me is helping you break it down and find out what it's trying to teach you. The sub-conscious can't be controlled so you are not blamed for how it filters information, trust me, the dreams I've had are wild, so absolutely ZERO judgement. To be fair, I'd probably become obsessed with you and need to help you! Some people like earning money, travelling or food. Me? Well, I like to help people understand their brains more, it's fun!
I am just about to release the most amazing Dream Analysis workshop! It's entirely self-led and comes with a packed workbook and supporting videos to help you understand your dreams.
It's also a brilliant, fun and unique Christmas gift for someone who has everything! It's so much better than socks or smellies!
It's also amazingly priced at just £47 and can be sent as a gift!
If you want to know more, book a FREE Discovery Call here
Jo xx